Well,
summer is almost gone, we are at home again and to be honest I’m already
planning for the ice climbing season...
Last weeks
were great. Together with Marieke I went to the Frankenjura and to the Dauphine
again. We had not been in the Frankenjura this year. Last two springs we had
been to the Bavarian climbing Nirvana for a few times. Already after our first
visit back in 2011 we knew we would come back. The whole package is great:
there are a few thousand routes on several hundred rocks in a very quite and
nice forest/lower hill- region. The rock is most of the time steep and fingery,
the easier routes are mostly poor equipped and have to be protected by
yourself. The harder routes normally see more bolts but it can be pretty
demanding. Beside that climbing specific features – the Frankenjura is a good
place to be because of the hospitality of the people, good food for an affordable
prize and most of all – all smaller villages have their own brewery…. What else
do you need?
We spent
our first week in Freienfels on the very low profile campground Waldmühle… no 4
star swimming pool, just the backyard of the old watermill. An old school
campground.
First day
we went to the Treunitzer Wand. A small climbing area with about 20 routes
between UIAA 4 and 7-. Nice warm up. We went there by bike and checked out one
of the breweries… I ordered a beer and got half a litre – yeah. Next day my
brother and his girl-friend arrived as well and we went to the Treunitzer
Klettergarten. A larger area with plenty of routes in the lower grades. We
checked out a pretty hard 7+, pure fun!
Marieke climbing on the Treunitzer Wand
cycling before the beer was ok, afterwards was interesting...
at the brewery
At the Treunitzer Klettergarten
Another
great spot is the Rote Wand close to Kleinziegenfeld. A really impressive wall
with on the right a few classic routes. We climbed the old direct south face,
steep and long! After that we did some nice attempts in “brothers in arms” UIAA
8. Good and steep with a boulderproblem halfway. There are a few more really
interesting routes rated 8- till 8+, they look really good and I definitely will
come back. To the right are easier routes, Peter did some good leadclimbing
there.
the classic south face of the Rote Wand...
Sarah working here way up in "brothers in arms"
Another
great spot are the Obere Schlossbergwände close to Gössweinstein. We went there
twice. After two attemps I redpointed my first 6c+/UIAA 8-, the route is called
Ulala and has a fingery start and in combination with the small roof in the
middle it is a nice route. two weeks later we met a guy who opened these routes, by the way, we met him in the Dauphine...
excellent climbing on the Obere Schlossbergwände
After 10
days the weather got bad and we drove to the south – to the Dauphine. I was
really happy to go there. In the last 5 years I visited the Dauphine every year for alpine
and sports climbing. The southern climate and the French culture are almost a “must
have” in the summer! We went to the camp ground in La Roche de Ram, about 20
minutes to the south of Briancon in de Durance valley.
The biggest ice axe of the world.... in Argentiere, well, a bit heavy if you need two of them for steep ice....
We went to the climbing
areas of Freissnieres, les Traverses and most of the time we ended up at the
Rocher Baron. The quartzite rock is very solid and the routes are really good
bolted. That makes it easier for Marieke to do some leadclimbs as well. Most of
the routes are in the lower grades but in the second sector you can find some hard
routes between 6c and 7c+. I redpointed a few 6c’s and a 6c+ and almost catched
my first 7a. Good workouts up there in the sun and the wind. Great.
the Tete 'd Aval, impressive south face. the "rank xerox" is a pretty cool route through the center of the wall, maybe next year...
Marieke at Rocher Baron...
mission possible, 6c+ redpoint at Rocher Baron
working in the overhanging 7a sections, really cool
